China home prices snap three-month decline as market stabilises

[SHANGHAI] Chinese home prices rose in more cities in October, snapping a three-month decline in a sign the property market is stabilising after a government campaign to curb speculation and runaway price growth.

New-home prices, excluding government-subsidised housing, climbed in 50 of the 70 cities tracked by the government, compared with 44 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday. Prices fell in 14 cities from the previous month and were unchanged in six.

Data earlier this week showed home sales last month dropped by the most in almost three years, declining 3.4 per cent by value from a year earlier, and 8.5 per cent by area, according to Bloomberg calculations based on official data. China's biggest cities diverged, with new-home prices falling 0.2 per cent in

Beijing from September, while rising 0.3 per cent in Shanghai, according to Saturday's report.

BLOOMBERG